The Senate passed a huge, $901 billion National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) Wednesday on a 77-20 vote, sending the measure to President Trump’s desk. The bipartisan package comes in at more than 3,000 pages and checks off several boxes on the president’s to-do list, including a pay raise of nearly four percent for military service members, improved military housing, a codification of Trump's order to end DEI efforts at the Pentagon, and a restriction on U.S. investment in China.
Two Republicans, Sens. Mike Lee (UT) and Rand Paul (KY), voted no, while 18 Democrats also opposed it.
Republicans on the Senate Armed Services Committee were stoked:
Passed & Headed to the President's Desk: The FY26 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
— SASC Republicans (@SASCGOP) December 17, 2025
This bill will:
✔️modernize our defense capabilities,
✔️reform the Pentagon acquisition process,
✔️improve quality of life initiatives for our troops,
✔️ensure @POTUS has sufficient… pic.twitter.com/2prDvsOTI3
✔️ensure @POTUS has sufficient military options.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) said on the Senate floor Tuesday that it would make America stronger:
This NDAA will make the most significant reforms to the way the Pentagon does business in a generation. These reforms will make our military stronger, more agile and more ready for whatever the mission may be, and that needs to be our mission here — to do whatever it takes to support American soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines, and guardians.
Armed Service Committee Chair Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS) echoed President Trump's (and Ronald Reagan's) mantra, “peace through strength”:
This year's NDAA ushers in the most significant acquisition reform in decades and helps the U.S. deter increasingly hostile nations. This legislation also recognizes Mississippi’s outstanding contributions to national defense. The American people voted for peace through… pic.twitter.com/Jgih7gkBHy
— Senator Roger Wicker (@SenatorWicker) December 17, 2025
The American people voted for peace through strength, and this NDAA delivers.
PREVIOUSLY: New: House Overcomes GOP Hurdles to Pass $901B Defense Bill
GOP’s NDAA Blunder Fans Flames As Dem Boat Strike Smear Fades
The final bill contains some controversial measures, though, including a requirement that Department of War Secretary Pete Hegseth turn over unedited footage of a Caribbean drug boat strike that’s caused Dems to fume, or lose a quarter of the Pentagon’s travel budget:
Other provisions, like a requirement for the Pentagon to release the unedited footage of boat strikes in the Caribbean in exchange for fully funding the Department of War’s travel fund, raised eyebrows but didn’t slow down the package’s success.
That provision comes as lawmakers demand more transparency in the Trump administration’s strikes against alleged drug boats, and in particular, as they seek the release of the footage from a Sept. 2 double-strike on a vessel.
NEW: Quietly tucked into the annual Pentagon policy bill is a req that Hegseth hand over the unedited video of the military strike that killed 11 people on Sept. 2, including 2 survivors
— Anne Flaherty (@AnneKFlaherty) December 8, 2025
The NDAA would withhold part of Hegseth's travel budget until he complied 👀 pic.twitter.com/ouspRU2YVU
Meanwhile, there was Republican concern that the bill failed to address aircraft safety over the nation’s capital.
Chief among… [the controversial issues] was a push by lawmakers to beef up language concerning the restriction of military aircraft travel around Reagan Washington National Airport.
The provision in the package says that military training aircraft are required to signal their location to air traffic controllers. That requirement, however, could be waived by the secretary of Transportation and the head of an individual military branch.
A number of key lawmakers had deemed that language to be insufficient, and Senate Commerce Committee Chair Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), the panel’s ranking member, filed an amendment to address the provision.
The effort comes almost a year after a domestic flight that was landing collided with an Army helicopter and left 67 people dead.
There’s plenty more in this bill, including a provision for another $400 million for Ukraine, even as Trump is trying to force them to agree to a peace deal with Russia, that analysts will doubtless be dissecting for months. For now, however, it’s up to Trump, and he is expected to sign it despite some of the features that he's not thrilled about.
Next up: Confirming nearly 100 Trump nominees, something the GOP wants to accomplish ASAP, and getting ready for the battle sure to come with the looming Jan. 30 deadline to fund the government. No more shutdowns, please!
Editor's Note: Thanks to President Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's leadership, the warrior ethos is coming back to America's military.
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